Mourinho picks fight with familiar enemy: referees

In a classic diversionary tactic, Chelsea
manager Jose Mourinho has successfully shifted
the Premier League agenda onto the "campaign"
by referees, in his mind at least, against his
players.
With the conveyer belt of Premier League
controversies stopping again at players who dive,
few are discussing Chelsea's comparative
struggles on the road in the Premier League.
Although it's nine wins out of nine at Stamford
Bridge, Sunday's 1-1 stalemate at Southampton
was Chelsea's fourth away draw — as many as the
entire 2013-14 season when Mourinho's
homecoming ended in third place.
Chelsea does head into the second half of the
season at the Premier League summit. But the lead
is flimsier than some pundits anticipated when
imprudently issuing premature predictions a month
ago that the Blues would run away with the title
without losing, just before they did just that at
Newcastle.
Mourinho won't tolerate another season without a
trophy. Perhaps owner Roman Abramovich will
also grow restless again with the Special One.
Also read: No racism in football: Mourinho
So an enemy appears useful for Mourinho to
create a siege mentality at Chelsea: It's us against
the world, or referees at least.
What set Mourinho off this time? Referee Anthony
Taylor booked Cesc Fabregas for simulation when
the midfielder went down in the penalty area after
being caught by Southampton's Matt Targett. It
came weeks after Chelsea's Diego Costa and
Willian were booked for apparently diving in a win
against Hull, whose manager Steve Bruce drew
comparisons with the London club and "Swan
Lake".
"There is a clear campaign against Chelsea,"
Mourinho grumbled on Sunday, believing Taylor
was influenced by the previous simulation
sanctions.
Expanding on Fabregas' booking, Mourinho said:
"In other countries where I worked before,
tomorrow in the sports papers it would be a front-
page scandal because it is a scandal."
It was very different in April 2013 when Mourinho's
reign as Real Madrid coach was ending in
acrimony and he openly flirted with Chelsea just
before sealing his return.
"I know in England I'm loved," the Portuguese said
in Spain after another Champions League
campaign ended prematurely. "I'm loved by the
media that treats me in a fair way, criticizing me
but giving me credit when I deserve it.
"I know I'm loved by some clubs, especially one
(Chelsea). And in Spain, the situation is a bit
different because some people hate me. Many of
you are in this room."
Now the fights are being picked again in England —
with referees.
When it's convenient he is their arch advocate,
though.
In August 2013 — at the start of his second spell
at Chelsea — Mourinho lavished praise on "English
referees, people who love the game and who love
to communicate" following the team's UEFA Super
Cup loss to Bayern Munich so as to make his case
against a Swedish official seem less vindictive.
Jonas Eriksson is still officiating — unlike
compatriot Anders Frisk who retired after receiving
death threats from Chelsea fans in 2005. Mourinho
had accused the Barcelona coach of trying to
influence referee Frisk during halftime of a
Champions League game. Along with a touchline
ban, Mourinho was accused by UEFA of being "the
enemy of football."
Mourinho has mellowed slightly. While lambasting
Taylor's "big mistake" at Southampton, the
denunciation was followed by an insistence the
referee is a "good guy, an honest guy."
If the outcome is referees become wary now of
booking Chelsea players for tumbling in the
penalty area, and more likely to award penalties
instead, Mourinho will undoubtedly deem his
outburst a success.
If only referees could defend themselves, with the
lifting of the Premier League vow of silence.
"Perhaps it would serve a higher purpose for the
referee to attend a press conference with his
supervisor alongside him," former Manchester
United manager Alex Ferguson wrote in his recent
autobiography, which complains on the next page
how he lost European matches against Mourinho's
teams "not because of performance of the players
but because of the referee."
In deploying diversionary tactics, Mourinho has
learnt from the master. However, while Ferguson's
rants were laced with vitriol, Mourinho's outbursts
seem far more calculated and entertaining.
And it was his tantrum being constantly replayed
on television on Monday in England, rather than a
discussion of his tactics at Southampton.
It may backfire on Mourinho. Despite Taylor's clear
mistake in penalizing Fabregas, the sympathies
outside Chelsea could well be with the maligned
officials — particularly in the refereeing community